Thinking Twice

Two minds in one brain

Jonathan St BT Evans

Explores a fascinating and counter-intuitive idea that humans have 2 distinct minds operating within their brains, showing how a conflict between the two can result in irrational and even dangerous behaviour

Accessibly written by a world class scientist who has spent his life studying the mind, and based around cutting edge work from the cognitive neurosciences

Offers explanations of why we can behave in such apparently irrational ways - whether from phobias of harmless insects, to extreme cases of absent mindedness, leading to harm of our ourselves or others

Thinking Twice

Two minds in one brain

Jonathan St BT Evans

Description

Common sense would suggest that we are in complete control of the actions we perform - that all our actions are the result of considered and conscious preparation. Yet, there are countless examples of this control breaking down, for example, in the case of phobias and compulsive actions. We can all recall those times when, in the 'heat of the moment', our actions have been very different to those that would have resulted from calm and considered reflection. In extreme moments of 'absent-mindedness' our actions can even have castastrophic consequences, resulting in harm to ourselves or others. So why does this happen - why do apparently rational and intelligent beings make, what appear to be, such fundamental errors in their thinking.

This book explores the idea that humans have two distinct minds within their brains: one intuitive and the other reflective. The intuitive mind is old, evolved early, and shares many of its features with animal cognition. It is the source of emotion and intuitions, and reflects both the habits acquired in our lifetime and the adaptive behaviours evolved by ancient ancestors. The reflective mind, by contrast, is recently evolved and distinctively human: it enables us to think in abstract and hypothetical ways about the world around us and to calculate the future consequences of our actions. The evolution of the new, reflective mind is linked with the development of language and the very large forebrains that distinguish humans from other species; it has also given us our unique human form of intelligence. On occasions though, our two minds can come into in conflict, and when this happens, the old mind often wins. These conflicts are often rationalised so that we, conscious persons, are unaware that the intuitive mind is in control.

Written by a leading cognitive scientist, this book demonstrates how much of our behaviour is controlled by automatic and intuitive mental processes, which shape, as well as compete, with our conscious thinking and decision making. Accessibly written, and assuming no prior knowledge of the field, the book will be fascinating reading for all those interested in human behaviour, including students and researchers in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

Thinking Twice

Two minds in one brain

Jonathan St BT Evans

Table of Contents

1: The two minds hypothesis 2: Evolutionary foundations 3: Two ways of knowing 4: Two ways of deciding 5: Reasoning and imagination 6: Thinking about the social world 7: Consciousness and control 8: The two minds in action: co-operation and conflict Addendum: Some technical issues References

Thinking Twice

Two minds in one brain

Jonathan St BT Evans

Author Information

Thinking Twice

Two minds in one brain

Jonathan St BT Evans

Reviews and Awards

"Thinking Twice offers a fascinating interdisciplinary tour of the human mind ... It challenges the current fashion that upholds the power of intuitive thinking as well as the common-sense view that we are in complete charge of our actions we perform. Evans' explication of "two minds in one brain" uses abundant up-to-date, eye-opening, readable examples ranging from neuropsychology to social psychology. It is the very book that both general readers and professionals would enjoy reading." - Metapsychology

"This book is the best case currently available for the dual process theory. A reader of Thinking Twice will find that Evans strikes just the right balance between readability and conceptual rigor. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, whether a psychologist or not, who is interested in the dual process theory." - Philosophy in Review